Burial-casket.



N0. 807,947. PATENTED DEG. 19, 1905. W. H. LAWSON.

BURIAL GASKET.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 23,1905.

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No. 807,947. PATENTED DEG. 19, 1905.

W. H. LAWSON.

BURIAL GASKET.

APPLInATIoN FILED oc'r.23.19o5.

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W/TNESSES: 4 INVENTOR.

mww @10 19V/777mm W2? ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed October 23,1905. Serial No. 283,952.

T0 all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, VALTER H. LAWSON, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Richmond, in the county of Wayne and State of Indiana,have invented new and useful Improvements in Burial-Gaskets, of whichthe following is a complete specification, which when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, issufciently clear and concise as to enable others skilled in the art towhich it pertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to that class of cofhns in which a casketis changed to a couch or catafalque or conversely, as desired, and toprovide new and novel means for accomplishing the transformationexpeditiously.

The preferred manner of the construction of my invention is shown mostclearly in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l shows anintrospective plan view of the casket open as in Fig. 4. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section of my casket as taken on the line U U of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is adetail vertical section as taken on the line V V of Fig. l.Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section of my casket as taken on the line I/VWV of Fig. l and showing the casket open. Fig. 5 is a verticalcross-section of my casket as taken on the line X X of Fig. l andshowing the casket closed. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of one ofthe operating-arms and its sheath or tube. Fig. 7 is a longitudinalsectional view taken through the part-s shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is adetail perspective view of one of the hangers in which theoperating-arms is engaged as shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a detail sectionas taken on the line Z Z of Figs. 5 and 11. Fig. 10 is a detail sectionas taken on the line Y Y of Figs. 9 and ll, and Fig. l1 is a detailisometrical view of one of the guideblocks and its accompanying rollers.

Similar reference characters denote and refer to like parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings, and the arrows indicate the directionin which some of the views are taken.

In this construction the outer shell portion of the casket is designatedby the letters A, B, C, and D, said letters referring to the front,back, left-hand, and right-hand ends,

respectively, while the letter H denotes the cover therefor, which coveris' mounted by the two hinges E and F to the upper edge of the back B,as shown. It will be seen that the shell formed as stated is minus abottom therefor; but a relatively vertically movable bottom I isprovided, which is adapted to be moved up and down inside the shell, orin actual use the shell is moved up and down while the bottom remainsstationary, and this bottom I in reality becomes the base of the couchor inner section.

Rising vertically from the respective left and righthand ends of thebottom I and permanently connected thereto are the oval top end membersJ and J. Extending over the bottom I and supported some distancethereabove, as shown, is the couch-bottom K, and removably locatedbetween the members J and J and rising from the rear edge of the bottomK is the couch-back L. The members K, J, J', and L, in fact, comprisethe couch proper, it being intended, of course, that the couch beproperly upholstered and provided with a bed, (not sho'wn,) which bedshould cover the entire top of the couch-bottom K and on which bed it isdesigned that the corpse shall be laid.

Located approximately on the center of the bottom I and below the bottomK is the vertically-disposed drum l, having a pivot at both its lowerand upper ends centrally thereof, the lower pivot being mounted in thesocket-plate 2, as shown in Fig. 3, and the upper pivot being mountedcentrally in the apex of the spider 3, both the members 2 and 3 beingsecured to the bottom I, as shown in the drawings.

Secured in the face of the drum 1 and at different elevations are thecords 4, 5, 6, and 7, which I will now refer to. The outer ends of therespective cords I and 5 are secured to the inner ends of the respectivecoil-springs 9 and l0, said springs having their opposite endspermanently secured by the respective staples or the like` (denoted bythe numerals 1l and 12,) which staples are secured to and toward theleft and right hand ends of the bottom i, substantially as shown. Saidcords 4 and 5 are adapted to wind on the drum l in opposite directionsto each other, while the tension of the springs 9 and 10 is such as tonormally keep said cords unwound. Located opposite and on a level withthe cords 6 and 7 apertures are formed through the end members J and Jin which are mounted the respective spools or pulleys 13 and 14, overwhich the respective cords 6 and 7 may operate. The outer ends of saidcords are permanently secured directly therebelow to in'- ner surfaceand near the lower edges of the respective left and right hand endmembers IOO IIO

. oval, formed in the segment of a circle, the

are the respective guide-blocks 15 and 16,

C and D of the Aouter shell. The lengths of l the cords 6 and 7 are suchthat when the shell is lowered, as in Fig. 4, the cords 6 and 7 arepractically unwound from the drum 1, while at the same time the cords 4and 5 will be wound thereon against the force of the springs 9 and 10.It is designed that the strength and the torsion of the springs 9 and 10shall be such as to counterbalance the weight of the shell and itscover.

The movements of the shell vertically around the couch is guided andmade practically frictionless by the following described means: Spacedapart and extending vertically parallel with each other and secured tothe inner faces and nearthe inner ends of the end members C and D arethe angle-iron guides, the guides M and N being located on the formerand the guides M and N being located on the latter, whereby verticalguideways are formed between each pair, substantially as Y shown.Secured near the lower rear corners of the outer faces of the endmembers J and one being shown in detail in Fig. 11, which blocks arealined midway of their respective pairs of guideways N M and N M. Eachof said guide-blocks has two pairs of circular cavities formed in theirfaces whose arc cuts the edges of the blocks, and opposite thereto eachtwo have one point in common centrally of the blocks, as shown. Disposedrevolubly in each 4of said cavities is a roller-disk, as the upper disks17 and 18 and the lower disks 19 and 20 in the block 15 and the Lipperdisks 21 and 22 and the lower disks 23 and 24 in the block 16, as shown.Each of said disks projects somewhatbeyond the edge of the blocks, andopposite thereto the peripheries of each pair of disks are juxtaposedwith each other, all substantially as shown in Fig. 11. The antipodalperipheries of each pair of said disks are adapted to contact with theinward face of the respective guides Yto form roller-bearings,substantially'as shown in Figs. 4 and 9. It will nowv be notablyTapparent that if the casket be arranged on supports-for instance, thepedestals 98 and 99-contacting only with the under side of the bottom I,as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, the shell of the casket may be freelymoved up and down, being practically frictionlessly mounted andcounterbalanced by the arrangements above set forth.

The means for actuating the shell vertically by the operation of openingand closing the cover of the casket: As afore intimated, the upper edgesof the end members J and J are exact curvature being accuratelypredetermined according to the size of the casket and the curvedescribed by the cover and the movements of the shell'. Formed in thecenter of 'the upper edge of said end members J and J is a half-roundchannel in which is partially embedded the respective tubes 25 and 26,each having an ear at each end thereof, whereby it may be secured byscrews or otherwise. The numerals 27 and 28 each represents an armoperative back and forth telescopically in the respective tubes 25.and26, substantially as shown. Extending at right angles from the outerends of the respective arms are the coupling-hooks 29 and 80. Formedlongitudinally in the tubes 25 and 25, in their upper faces, is aslot,(shown in Fig. 6,) extending from their rear ends to substantially halftheir lengths, through which the shanks of the respective hook members29 and 30 may glide back and forth. Secured on the inside of the coverH, opposite said hooks 29 and 30, are the respective hangers 31 and 82,each having an eye in its projecting end which engages the respectivehooks 29 and 30, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Extending down at rightangles from the inner end of the arms 27 and 28 is a pin-stop (only oneof which can be seen in the drawings and that being indicated by thenumeral 8 in Fig. 7) which operates in slots therefor formed in theunder side of the tubes and of a length as only to allow the arms 27 and'28 to have a limited movement rearward to bring the cover to a verticalposition, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

From the above it will ben'oticed that when Y the cover is down, as inFig. 5, the hooks 29 and 8O are in the forward end of the upper slot ofthe tubes and the pin-stops are in the forward ends of the lower slotsof the tubes, and, conversely, when 'the lid is raised, as in Fig. 4,the said hooks glide through and beyond the upper slots, while thepin-stops glide to the rear ends of the lower slots and prevent thecover from moving farther rearward'. It will also be seen that as thecover is moved to its opened and closed positions the arms 27 and 28will vmove telescopically in and out in their respective tubes 25 and25, whereby in order to adjust their movements to the curvature of thetubes, which are relatively stationary, the shell will of necessity bemoved up and down within the limits indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, verylittle effort being required to actuate said movements, the mechanismbeing so nicely balanced that the lid will remain at any angle withinits radius at which it may be left.

In order that the couch portion may be supported inside the shell whenthe casket is lifted from the pedestals, I provide a plurality ofdetents, as the pins indicated by the letter P in various parts of thedrawings, which pins extend inward from the lower edge of the inner faceof the shell, as shown, Yto engage IOO The shell is prevented fromdropping downward farther than that shown in Fig. 4 by two pairs ofstops, one pair being located at each end of the casket, the stops and36 being' secured horizontally on the outer faces and near the lowerforward corners of the respective end members J and J ofthe couch andthe stops 37 and 38 being secured horizontally on the inner faces andnear the upper forward corners of the respective end members D and C ofthe shell. By this arrangement it is apparent that as the shell islowered the faces of the stops 37 and 38 will impinge the opposing facesof the stops 35 and 36, and thus preient further movement downward ofthe shel From the above description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it is believed that my invention, its operation,and its advantages will be fully understood without further insistence.

Having now fully shown and described my invention and the best mannerfor its construction to me knownat this time, what I claim, and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A burial-casket having in combination, an outer shell, a cover hingedto the shell, a relatively stationary couch located within the shell, avertically-disposed drum carried centrally ofthe base of the couch, apair of oppositely-disposed springs secured longitudinally in the base,a cord or the like extending from the free ends of the said springs andsecured to the face of the drum to wind thereon in opposite directions,a pair of cords or the like secured to the face of the drum to windthereon in opposite directions and having their ends extending out tothe inner faces of their respective ends of the shell and then extendingdownward and being secured near the lower edges of the ends of theshell, means for guiding the shell vertically and frictionlessly overthe couch, and means for moving the shell vertically by opening andclosing the cover, all substantially as shown and described.

2. A burial-casket having in combination, an outer shell, a cover hingedto the shell, a relatively stationary couch located within the shell, apair of guides spaced apart and secured to the inner faces and near therear of the ends of the shell and at .either end thereof, guide-blockssecured to the ends of thecouch opposite and between each pair ofguides, two pairs of disks revoluble loosely in each of saidguide-blocks and adapted to `travel on the opposing faces of the guides,

of the couch, a hanger secured inside thev cover and alined with itsrespective tube, an arm telescopically mounted in each of said tubeswith their outer ends pivoted in the respective hangers on the coverwhereby as the cover is opened and closed the shell and the lid will belowered and raised respectively, all substantially as shown anddescribed.

4L. A burial-casket having a movable outer shell, a cover hinged to theshell, a couch located within the shell, the counterbalancing means forconnecting interiorly the shell and the couch, guides secured on theinner faces of the ends of the shell, guide-blocks secured to the outerends of the couch and cai'- rying `roller-disks therein, theroller-disks mounted in said guide-blocks and adapted to travel inguideways formed kby said guides, means for automatically actuating thevertical movements of the shell by the operation of opening and closingthe lid, said means consisting of curved arms attached to the lid andoperative in tubes secured on the upper segmental edges of the ends ofthe couch, the tubes in which said arms operate with means for theirattachment to the couch, and means for supporting the couch by andentirely within the shell when the casket is lifted from itssupports,'all substantially as shown and described.

ln testimony whereofI have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

WALTER H. LAWSON.

lVitnesses:-

EDWARD HoLLARN, ROBERT WV. RANDLE.

IOO

